Welcome! Blood, guts, trauma, surgery, and life saving intervention keep us on the adrenaline roller coaster of the ER. Of course, it's not always positive. The ER can be an emotionally taxing and sometimes heartbreaking workplace, and this blog serves as an outlet for the stress of making life and death decisions each and every day.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Today was an insanely busy day in our emergency room, full of very sick pets, trauma, and animals who truly required our attention. In the midst of our hectic day, trying to efficiently manage multiple emergencies at once, I happened to have the misfortune of answering this phone call:

SCOTD: (Stupid client of the day)

"Hi, my dog has some sort of swelling on his butt, and I didn't know what it was, so I cut it open, and now it's bleeding and I can't get it to stop. He doesn't seem to be in pain or anything, but it's bleeding a lot."

Me: "Well, I'd definitely recommend you bring him on in so we can take a look; apply pressure and head on in. If your dog is bleeding then we want to get that stopped right away"

SCOTD: "Well, just tell me what you guys would do and I'll do it at home."

Me: ".... You want me to tell you what I would do on a bleeding area of your dog that I can't see over the phone? We might do surgery, we might need to ligate something, we might need cautery. You expect me to tell you how to do that over the phone?

SCOTD: "Ya, just tell me what you'd do and I'll do it myself."

Me: "That's just impossible. If your dog is bleeding, bring him in right away."

SCOTD: "Right, fine"

-They never showed up. Do people call their human physician and act like this?

All stories contained within this blog are inspired by my life as an emergency veterinarian. Details including but not limited to name, time of visit, species, and age are changed to protect the innocent and crazy alike. Any relationship to persons or animals, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

This isn't web DVM....

These stories are shared to inspire and to entertain. They are not intended to be medical advice. If your pet is sick, the only rational thing to do is have him or her seen (in real life) by a veterinarian.

Who is that masked woman, anyway?

Ever since I was little, I always had the dream of becoming a veterinarian. The dream has been realized, and my passion is emergency medicine. ER work has many pitfalls and disadvantages, but for me, the ability to be there in a moment of crisis and help both a beloved pet and their loving family, is worth the bad days.

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Definitions and commonly seen conditions

Anemia: Low PCV (see below). Anemia can result from external hemorrhage, internal hemorrhage, destruction of blood cells in the body, or inability to make new blood cells in the bone marrow.

Azotemia: Elevation in the BUN (blood urea nitrogen) or creatinine. BUN and creatinine are body wastes typically eliminated by the kidneys; increased levels in the body indicate kidney dysfunction, obstruction of urine, or severe dehydration.

Congestive Heart Failure (CHF): Accumulation of fluid in the lungs due to failure of the heart. Some symptoms include shortness of breath, decreased appetite, rapid breathing rates, coughing, and weakness.

Feline Lower Urinary Tract disease (also called feline idiopathic cystitis): A condition resulting in frequent, painful urination, and in the most severe cases, obstruction of the urethra. FLUTD has several potential causes and is also an extreme emergency.

GDV: Gastric dilatation and volvulus. Occurs in large breed dogs; the stomach fills with gas and twists. An extreme emergency, this condition is treated with stabilization and immediate surgery.

PCV: Packed cell volume. The percentage of red blood cells contained within a given sample of whole blood. Normal for dogs and cats is typically 35%-45%.